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Bar News - July 4, 2003 Up Close & Personal with New Bar President Russell F. Hilliard By: Lisa Segal Interviews with Bar Newsmakers
Q: Tell me about your childhood. Where were you born and raised? What were some of the values your family taught you that stick with you today? A: I was born and raised in Pembroke, New Hampshire, the youngest of three children. In terms of values, my father was a very hard worker and also very much involved in public service - he was involved in the community within his range of interest. My mother was a traditional housewife - she was very involved in the church, etc. My father was very interesting. He was a pilot; he really got into aviation after seeing what the Wright Brothers did. He was a man who was too busy to get married until he was 50, and he married my mom, who was 25. He was born in the 1800s. He flew in World War I and trained pilots in World War II. During the 1920s, he was one of those crazy barnstormers; he was part of circus acts with people walking on the wings of his plane. You'd never believe it because he was a very conservative, quiet Yankee, a NH native. My dad died 22 years ago at the age of 84. When I graduated from high school, he was 72. Most people assumed he was my grandfather; there was a missing generation there. But my father was a very active person, a hard worker. He held a high-level state government position after World War II, but I remember he was always very kind and respectful towards everybody - his staff, those less fortunate. He was kind of an "everyman's man." Q: On to education - where did you earn your undergraduate degree? In what? A: I earned an environmental engineering degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Q: At what point did you decide you wanted to go to law school and become a lawyer? What influenced or contributed to that decision? A: I was working for an engineering firm during summers at college. I had a fair amount of contact with attorneys and - much to my father's disappointment and though I loved engineering - my impression was that lawyers were doing the more interesting part of the projects, so I decided to go to law school. Eventually my father said, "All right, but whatever you do, don't do criminal defense." For the first five or six years of my career, I did criminal defense work, but even he found that fascinating. Q: How does your engineering background affect your approach as an attorney, as compared to the approaches of other lawyers with different backgrounds? A: The analytical skills that you acquire through math, science and engineering training cause you to approach legal problems in the same analytical way - you analyze more from a technical point of view rather that from a broader liberal arts perspective. Also, a lot of lawyers' eyes glaze over when they have cases that involve math or scientific situations - so there my background helps a lot. Q: You earned your law degree from Cornell, graduating in 1976, and were admitted to the NH Bar the same year. What was your first job in the legal profession? What were your early impressions of practicing law in NH? A: I was in a two-person partnership with Vincent Dunn. I had worked summers for him during law school and we enjoyed working together very much. So after law school, we formed a partnership, Dunn & Hilliard, on North Main Street in Concord. We worked together for about four years. I did criminal defense work, and he was a former banking commissioner, so we also did a lot of work getting charters for new banks in New Hampshire, and did a smattering of other work, too. My early impression of practicing law in NH was that it was a great deal of fun. The year my class was admitted to the Bar, the Bar's membership reached 1,000 for the first time. Since it was a much smaller group, I came to know almost all the lawyers in the state. The lawyers were very supportive of each other; you could always call any lawyer in town and talk about a case. The pace was also much slower - we used to actually walk down the street and take a coffee break. The courthouses were much different - there was always a big lawyers' gathering area, separate from the public area. I enjoyed the camaraderie of meeting there. There was no court in the summer, unless there was an emergency situation, because there was no air conditioning. You could take vacation or catch up on other work in summer. I got involved in Bar affairs right away. I was elected Merrimack County Bar president one or two years after I started practicing. I immediately enjoyed that aspect - professional activities. I think I went to every CLE the Bar offered because I was afraid I'd miss something. Q: Tell me about the rest of your career as an attorney, up to your present position as a litigator with Upton & Hatfield. A: During my first major case, a homicide, I was defending the client with Skip Smith (Ernest T. Smith, III) of Upton, Sanders & Smith. We tried the case in late fall 1976. Skip became my mentor in litigation. On May 16, 1980, I joined the Upton firm. Shortly after that, Vincent Dunn was appointed a Superior Court judge. I've been here for 23 years. In 1982, I became a partner. We merged with the Hatfield firm a few years ago. The focus of my practice has changed. I did a smattering of criminal defense work when I moved here. About 15 years or so ago I stopped doing that. Now I do almost exclusively civil litigation of all types. Q: What's your favorite part of being a lawyer? What kinds of cases/issues/situations do you prefer to work on? A: My favorite part is the mixture of the types of cases I work on and the mixture of lawyers I get to work with. The variety is what I find most interesting. Q: Can you give me some examples of those types of cases? A: I defend professional liability cases - when lawyers, psychiatrists, doctors or other professionals are sued for errors in their practice. I also do municipal litigation, representing towns. I also do a fair amount of representing lawyers when disciplinary charges are brought against them. Those are very unfortunate cases. Although most end in a finding of no misconduct, it takes a personal toll on the lawyer, even if he is exonerated. It's a difficult process to go through. It's rewarding, though, in that you're helping someone with a problem that goes beyond money. Q: What's your favorite part of being a member of the NH Bar? A: It's been the people with whom it's brought me into contact. The two lawyers who have been most significant to me have been Skip Smith, who was a mentor in my practice, although he wasn't involved in Bar activities, and Jack Middleton, through his involvement in Bar activities. Jack inspired me to professional service. As a young lawyer, my involvement rapidly brought me into contact with Bar leaders and the leading lawyers in this state. I appreciate the opportunities Bar service has given me to work with people of that caliber and do good for the public. Q: You are taking office as Bar president. What are you looking forward to in that role? A: I don't expect it'll be different from my last two years on the Board of Governors. My experience since being elected vice president is that the Bar officers work more as a team than individually. Who happens to be Bar president doesn't matter. We all have an equal voice in the decisions that are made and the directions we take. I am looking forward to going around the state to county and local Bar and Inn of Court meetings to represent the Bar and enjoy the company of the other lawyers of this state. It's obvious there will be a number of challenges to deal with over the course of the year.
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